Apparatus for sealing and capping bottles.



S. G. BOND.

APPARATUS FOR $EALING AND GAPPING BOTTLES.

APPLICATION FILED APR. 10, 1909. RENEWED APR. 5, 1911.

l flfig fil 6, Patented Sept. 5, 1911.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

' a 1 a e Attys S. O. BOND.

APPARATUS FOR SEALING AND OAPPING BOTTLES APPLICATION FILED APR. 10. 1909. RENEWED APR.1911.

1 g 002 8 1 6-. Patented Sept. 5, 1911.

2 SHEET$SHLBT 2.

I y INVENTQR 9 m I UNITED STATES OFFICE.

SAJVIUEL O. BOND, OF WILMINGTON, DELAWARE, ASSIGNOR 'IO BOND BOTTLE SEALING COMPANY, OF WILMINGTON, DELAWARE, A CORPORATION OF DELAXVARE,

APPARATUS FOR SEALING AND OAPPING BOTTLES.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented se t. 5, 1911.

Application filed April 10, 1909, Serial No. 489,112. Renewed April 5, 1911. Serial li o. 619,172.

/ pparatusfor Sealing and Capping Bottles,

oi whieh inqn'ovements the following is a. t uch ilion.

, Patent No. 898,959 and No; dated September 15, 1908 Ihave and claimed certain improvements mg bottles, said improvements consisting generally stated in seating a flanged 5 can on a. bottle and by pressure applied to the flange in a. direction substantially parallel with the axis of the bottle, causing said llilllfifl to grip the bottle and firmly hold the nap in position thereon. In thus bending the flange into engagement with the bottle a erim 'iing or 'ffiltllllg of the metal necessa 'ril r occurs, and it some portions of the flange are weaker than others such crimping will he looaliiual along the weaker portions, and VOHS; guenl'ly the cap will be locked, to g hm tle only where the crimps occur.

.I mention describe-(l. herein has for its .meulmnism 'wluarchy a. substantially m crimping of the flange and the [orclhe criuips into l Jltl'ilg engagement 2 l: lie may be effected. 1 is hereinafter more fully desta-ilmd and clainnzd.

.ln the aeemnpsnying drnwings forming a part this specification, Figure 1 is a sectional view of a sealing head of the type shown in the patents referred to, and him bod j my improvement; Fig. is a detail view not i'ng a cap and the cap seating and locking lingers at the beginning oi the cuppiug operation; Figs. 3, 4t and 5 are views partly in elevation and partly in section illustrating ping-re 've steps in securing the cap to the bottle; Fig. (3 a. sectional view on a plane indicated by the line Vi -VI Fig. looking in the direction of the arrow (1.; Fig, is a. sectional view of a different type in capping head but embodying my improvement; Figs. 8, 9 and 10 are plan views of modifications of my cap-applying device, and F 11 is a detail view of the block carrying the ezqyseuling members shiiuvmg the shoulder which serves as a support for such locking fingers or struts.

it will be readily understood by those in the block Ii:

sleeve norma lly rot skilled in the art that any suitable form of mechanism may be employed for shifting the sealing head or the bottle sitipportiug toe ble or both relative to each other.

The head 8 is formed in part by shell ll, having an enlarged lower portion for the reception of the radially slotted annular block 1:2, which held in position by the annular plug 13, removably secured to the shell ll. The inner walls ot the plug; are made flaring so as to serve as a guide for the bottle. Struts or fingers 14 are so pivotally supported in the slots in the block 12, which has an internal dian'ieter somewhat greater than the greatest diameter of the cap, that the portion of said struts designed to ei'igage the cap will be in a plane below the plane of the pivotal points of the struts, and will lie in a circle having a diameter intermediate of the greatest and least external diameters of the cap. These struts areheld from outward radial. movement after engagement with the cup, so that when their inner ends are shifted relatively to tl'ieir pivotal points, by engagement with the flange of the cap, such ends will move in toward a tiom'mon center, until they bear against the side walls of the cap as he inaiter described. These struts are so con noted and arranged withas to have a. sul'liciont out ward radial n'mveu'ieut when a, cap is thrust in lmt-ween' them to allow the insertion of caps dillj'ering' somewhat in diameter. 'lheso struts are preferably ii-shape l, and are pivotally suppo d at or adjtieent to their apices. In the construction shown their .a'piees project between, rings .15 arranged .i'naey be determined by any suitably arrai V d stop, against whicl'i the struts will more after a. cap has been secured on a bottle, it. is prel'cred to control the return movements of the struts by means of a sleeve it? freely movable in the shell 11, and provided at its lower end with a. flange 17 adapted to project between the legs of the struts. This on a shoulder 28 formed. on the inner wall of the block 12, and when in. this position the upper legs of the struts will rest on the flange 17, and

thereby hold the. struts in pro 'ior operative position. This construction whereby proximately to parallelism with such axis, in

locking the cap to the bottle. hen the crimps are thus localized the stronger portions of the flange will be simply bent down without any material crimping action, upon the bottle, and will not fully engage under the head of the bottle. In order to prevent I any such localization of the crimps from any cause and to insure a uniform crimping at all points, provision is made for a preliminary crimping of the flange'before any material bending of the same into locking en gagement with the bead on the bottle can .occur. To this end a portion of the fingers or struts are made a little longer than the others, sothat such longer struts will engage the flange in advance .of the others, and'by reason of such engagement will partially crimp or dent the flange as indicated at-b before the flange as a whole has been bent or materially turned down toward lockingengagement with the bead of the bottle.

' After this crimping action by the fingers or struts 14, the shorter fingers or struts 14 willcome into engagement with the flange at points intermediate of the crimps or bends produced bythe struts 14. As both series of fingers or strut-s have the portions engaging the flange lying in a common circle, it will be evident that as the bending progresses the portions of the cap in contact with the struts l twill be bent to such an extent that the struts will no longer bear upon them in a direction to force them in under the bead and that thereafter themovement of the portions a into locking-engagement with the bead will be caused by. the pressure ofthe struts 14 upon the portions not the flange intermediate of the portions Z). This progressive action of the two series of fingers is clearly illustrated in Figs. 3, t and 5.- In Fig. 3 the preliminar crimp b is clearly shown, the part c intermec iate of such crimps being practically in normal position or in the position occupied bythe flange before the-cap has been pressed upon a bottle.

In Fig. 4 the portion a has been bent down andin its movement meets with the struts tially under the beadd of the bottle.

lt'to-force the portion 6 oftheflange par- When the parts of the flange have reached the position shown in Fig. 4, the struts M will diameter of the bead it is preferred that the rings should be made in proper position. by

merely slide along the portions Z) and not exert any downward pressure thereon, but thestruts 14% will continue to bear down and force the portions 0 inward, and thereby press the portions 6 more tightly under the bead (Z. The action of the struts 14 on the part 0 will be such as to force the portions 0 to a greater or less extent under the bead cl, but not to the. extent to which the portions 6 have. been forced by the pressure of the struts 14 on the portions 0.

By reason of the preliminary crimping imparted by the series of fingers or struts 14, the crimps will be uniformly distributed throughout the entire circumference of the flange, and there will not be any material localization of the crimps.

In the construction shown in Figs. 1 to (J, inclusive, the seating of a cap on a bottle is effected solely by the pressure exerted by the fingers or struts on the flange as clearly set forth in the Letters Patent hereinbefore referred to. As shown in Fig. 7 my improvement can be applied to that form or type of machine in which the seating ofrthe cap is eilectedby a plunger and the bendin of the flange into locking engagement with the bottle is effected by devices operative independent of the plunger. In this form or type of machine, the flange bending device may consist of a ring 18 either integral or formed in two or more sections, as shown in .Figs. 8, 9 and 10. On the underside of this rino are formed shoulders or rojections 20 preferably V-shaped which will operate to efi'ect the preliminary crimp corresponding in operation totheseries of fingers let heretofore described. These projections are made of such a height that as soon as they have,

effected the crimping of the parts I), the portions 2 of the ring intermediate of the projections will come into operation and operate on the portions 0 intermediate of the bent' portions 6. These rings are made of an internal diameter a little greater than the diameter of the body of the cap to which they are to be applied, so that they would readily pass down over the cap into engagement with the flange, and can be withdrawn after the flange has been bent into lockingengagement with the bottle. On account of the variations in the external portion ofthe bottles,

in sections as shown in Figs. 9 and 10, and that such sections should be yieldingly held a spring 22 of any suitable form or construction. In the type of machine shown in Fig. 7 this ring is supported in ahead 23 and held in I annular block 24, the plunger 25 operating through such annular block to press the cap into sealing engagement with the mouth of the bottle.

No claim is herein made for the, method place by anwe e311 fingers adapted to engage the flange of a cap and a second senes of fingers adapted si1bsequently to engage the flange of the cap at points adjacent to those operated on by the first series, both series of fingers being movable outwardly at the beginning of their operation. v

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand.

SAMUEL G. BUND.

Witnesses:

A. H. G. GANETT, W. H. MA'rsoN. 

